Inkredible Box: Collector Monthly Subscription

I had a subscription to the Truphae Collector Boxes pre-pandemic. I’ve decided to give the boxes another shot, as an opportunity to try pens/brands that I normally wouldn’t consider.

My first box arrived today and I’m thrilled.

Inkredible Box: Collector Monthly Subscription

This was a very fun box. I received a LeBoeuf Pilgram in Marine Green pearl, a pen case, and several ink samples. It's a pen I don't have and I'm very much looking forward to trying it.

Inkredible Box: Collector Monthly Subscription

This review is for the Inkredible Collector Premium Subscription. I think it's a great subscription that gives me exactly what I'm looking for in a mystery box -- a good quality product that I probably wouldn't have chosen on my own at a good price. I've subscribed to the Penthusiast box in the past, and I think the Collector Box is more interesting if you can (and care to) afford it. Every month, I compare what I get to the prices on Truphae's site and to other sellers, and the contents are always worth the cost of the subscription, providing good value versus MSRP and usually also decent value versus cherry picking from online discounters. If you are looking for a specific pen with specific parameters and just hoping you'll get it at a discount, this is not what you want. Go buy that pen instead -- you'll be happier! Me, I immediately ink up each month's pen with the ink that shared its shipping box, and I enjoy the surprise.

My stated preference is for the box to focus on a pen and a bottle of ink. I occasionally receive other things, most often sleeves, but most of the time I just get a pen and a bottle of ink. I also prefer fine or stub nibs, and I usually receive a pen with a fine nib. Occasionally, I receive a different nib size. That's okay with me -- this is a mystery box, after all, and I assume that like virtually every mystery box that focuses on value (as opposed to charging extra for curation), they are able to make it happen by making deals and purchasing in volume, and that those deals don't always provide a perfect distribution of body colors and nib sizes. Besides, it's good to change things up; the types of nibs I enjoy have evolved over the years, and also vary from brand to brand.

I do notice trends in the boxes, at least from my perspective. Most of the pens are European or American; that's not surprising, Truphae seems to focus a little more on those pens and probably has a stronger relationship with those distributors. Often, I seem to get a boutiquey pen with a steel nib or, occasionally, a more basic pen from a large company that features a gold nib. I believe I usually get more expensive bottles of ink with slightly less expensive pens, and vice versa, but that could be my imagination. There are also trends in the brands; I've gotten multiple Esterbrooks, for example, although they've all been different models. I have received one pen model twice (a LeBouef model), ten months apart (in two different color ways, both of which, I believe, were Truphae exclusives), but that has been the exception. If I get to the point where I feel like I'm getting the same thing over and over, I will quit the subscription - it's not like I really need more pens. But I'm not there yet. This is a fun box that I look forward to receiving.